Arthur Kay (musician)

Arthur Kay (16 January 1881 – 19 December 1969) was a German-American film composer and conductor.

Arthur Kay
Born16 January 1881 (1881-01-16)
Berlin, Germany
Died19 December 1969 (1969-12-20) (aged 88)
Hollywood, California, U.S.

Biography

Born in Berlin, Germany as Arthur Ferdinand Kautsenbach, Kay immigrated to the United States in 1911 to become the assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Karl Muck.[1]

He became close friends with operetta composer Victor Herbert and conducted several of his shows, including Sweethearts (1913) and Eileen (1917).[1]

In the late 1910s, Sid Grauman hired Kay as a conductor at Grauman's Million Dollar Theatre. Kay's responsibilities included leading the large theater orchestra and compiling live musical arrangements to accompany the projected silent films.[2]

With the advent of the sound era in film, Kay continued to work as a film studio conductor and a composer of film music. His efforts were included in such film serials as Tailspin Tommy (Universal, 1934), Dick Tracy (Republic, 1937), and S.O.S. Coast Guard (Republic, 1937). He also worked on such feature films as The Girl from Mandalay (Republic, 1936), Daniel Boone (RKO Pictures, 1936), and Gone with the Wind (MGM, 1939).

He also dabbled in providing voices for Terrytoons. He was known for voicing Gandy Goose and Sourpuss.[3]

In 1938, he became the first director of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, where he continued to serve in that capacity for nearly twenty years.[1]

gollark: Lua is whitespace-insensitive, mostly.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: And the weather sensor.
gollark: Maybe hollow to save on costs.
gollark: It would be very funny if someone constructed an exact replica of the End island 100 blocks away from the actual End island.

References
  1. "First Director of Civic Light Opera Dies," Los Angeles Times, 23 December 1969.
  2. "Drama," Los Angeles Times, 5 January 1919.
  3. "Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Gandy Goose". toonopedia.com.
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